in high-speed pursuit, deploying pipe bombs to the police officers. from what we understand, he was also in possession of the handgun, but taken off safely with no incident and thank goodness no one was hurt. >> reporter: the u.s. marshals closed in. a helicopter from the department of homeland security was dispatched. stuart is charged with three counts of attempted capitol murder, weapons charges, terror charges. and they stem from three pipe bombings on tuesday morning.

and filed charges against stuart. the 25-year-old stuart has been considered a cyber bully block, the revelations of our lord, in which he deraves the girlfriend. now more information on the stafford county sheriff's

department tonight, they say that law enforcement officers, they disabled his vehicle in montana and that stuart took off running on foot with his loaded handguns. no reports at this time that say that there were any shots fired. but that montana police did take them into custody. we'll have more information as we get it. i'm peggy fox reporting, back to you. >> i cannot remember a time when we have heard of a high- speed chase when pipe bombs were literally thrown. bizarre case, peggy, thank you. three days after sandy slammed the mid-atlantic in the northeast, the death toll continues to climb. >> sandy now blamed for more than 80 deaths and more than 4.6 million homes and businesses still in the dark this evening. in new york city, police are out there enforcing an hov requirement if you want to drive your car into manhattan. in hoboken, new jersey, nearly 20,000 people stranded in their homes by flood waters. in large areas of the jersey

coast are in ruins with homes, piers, board walks simply wreck. bruce johnson reports from a marina in atlantic highlands, new jersey, where sandy tossed around dozens of boats just like toys. >> reporter: i'm bruce johnson in highland, new jersey, another one of those small beach towns devastated by the storm. back over there, that's new york city. well what we want you to see is this way. you won't believe it. damage from this storm. millions of dollars in losses to these boats. big, small, luxury boats. working people, gone. >> it was rolling waves. and they were just both coming in, floating along everywhere. you didn't know which way they were coming from. just amazing. >> reporter: you are looking at more than 600 boats. both destroyed. you're looking at the harbor master here. the former captain of the police department here. and now my first question to you, how did this happen? >> this is just based on the

wind-driven storm. the ones here, they were in excess of 75 miles an hour. >> and down here you heard a horrible creeking and cracking. all the sailboats were there. >> we have boats ranging from, well, 20-foot power boats to 50- foot sailboats. >> you tell me that the owner of these boats. many of them don't know about the property and the prized possessions, they are all gone. >> we don't. we have no electricity, no phone service. no internet service. we have been unable to contact them as they have been unable to contact us. >> give us an idea of it. >> and we have, well, every day working guys to the people that will have a lot of money. >> reporter: and they are in this boat back here. the integrity was once owned by the late walter. over on long beach, island,

simply damage everywhere. huge amounts of sand filled in the streets. no water, no sewer, no electric gas or phone service. the folks evacuated are being forced to stay away. those who decide to ride out the storm on the island, they are now working together, trying to clean it up. the mayor says that the sand could end up costing more. should i say that sandy could end up costing more than $700 million. >> well, some subways and the commuter rails are up and running in new york city. but traffic, they are still the big problem. and flooding, it is crippling the two major tunnels into manhattan. we've got a look at that there for you. >> just a couple hours ago, i actually had a chance to tour a flooded tunnel, just like the one you're seeing behind me. we're in a special car. we got a chance to drive in about a quarter of the mile into the two-mile tunnel. take a look firsthand at all the damage. the reality right now, there is so much water. the smell almost gave me a headache. the local state and federal

officials, flooded the battle. they said that water in the tunnel has not dropped much, asking them for the high-speed pumps. >> the limited subway service is back in new york city for the first time since super storm sandy flooded. >> i walked about five miles. i'm happy to have the subways back. there's no subway service as they waited in massive lines in brooklyn for buses into downtown. >> anything that will get me into manhattan right now. i will walk, get on the train if i can. limited to carrying three or more people. >> no matter how inconvenient

it could be. bringing them here to make it more difficult. and safety is once again our paramount concerns. >> they are hoping to list that there next week. but that they are not as optimistic. they say that some people won't get their electricity back until november 11. we also have grim news to report at this hour. 38 people in new york city have lost their lives. we're hearing more and more about the people as we know there was a mother driving the suv on staten island. a wave crashed against her vehicle and her two sons were killed. >> it is just more difficult as the days go on. waiting for hours just to fill up their tanks. >> here is a new one for you. and they have taken some

serious views. only surae chinn and the 9news cameras were invited as they got a well deserved pat on the back. >> reporter: we were the only crew invited when they thanked the linemen. for the first time in recent history, they are being praised, not criticized. >> we finished the clean up. to finish that yesterday. >> reporter: the energy secretary, they are giving the hero credit for a job well done. >> it was amazing. >> yes. >> and he has been restoring customer for nearly 30 years. >> it is just like anything else. if you show -- if you show me a little respect, i will go the mile for you. >> oh man. i have been here going for 29 years and it is all right. >> reporter: at the height of super storm sandy. 44,000 customers were impacted. all by the power here. >> it is a big change, a

welcoming change. >> reporter: the regional president says that it was a little bit of luck and a lot of preparation. >> it feels good. and also the reality that a lot of customers in other parts of the country are suffering right now. >> reporter: the most highly criticized utility, even dubbed the most hated company in the nation. have they turned the corner? >> you know, that question, well, it is better served to those who will judge us. >> how do you think that they did at this time? >> we were very surprised. they were trying to trim some branches, right before the storm hit us. i was impressed to hear that. >> reporter: for a brief moment, they allowed us to celebrate. but only for a moment before they head back out. in rockville, maryland, surae chinn, 9news now. >> i would like that suit. and now even one of their biggest critics said that they

did a great job. they tell 9news that the prep work and the fact that they did not take on that storm lead to the better response. he said that will go a long way to rebuilding the goodwill among all their customers. like us on facebook and we will donate $1 for everything we get. investigators in maryland are reaching out to you tonight. trying to solve the murders of the mother of four. this happened late last week when they were walking their dogs, picking up the story now live from the office with more details, matt? >> reporter: there is only half a dozen murders all year long, which is why cases like these, completely innocent victims, get an awful lot of attention down here. >> what a tragedy.

>> yeah, definitely a tragedy. >> reporter: six days later, she still can't believe it. >> wonderful people. >> reporter: a 20-year resident, a quiet cul-de-sac in waldorf's neighborhood. they say this has always been a safe community. >> you don't think that anything like this will happen. >> reporter: which is why she remains stunned that according to police, her neighbors, jerry and teresa bass were shot early last friday night after being approached by a man, while walking their dog just a few blocks from their homes. >> the suspect pulled out a gun and fired a multiple shot. >> reporter: they were killed and the husband, jerry, seriously injured is still on the hospital -- still at the hospital. >> it's shocking. >> yes, absolutely. >> according to woods, she was a nurse and the mother of four children, while her husband, jerry, who has four kids of their own from the previous marriage, is a montgomery

county firefighter. >> they say that right now they have no motives in the case, but they released the schedule of the possible suspect in hopes of solving a crime that has rattled this close community. >> the sooner we find out who it is, more people will be at ease. >> it is bizarre and a tough case. but we saw it before. we can do it. >> okay, that is our matt jablo reporting. coming up, the presidential campaign becomes just too much for one 4-year-old girl to handle. can you blame her? and they won't leave us alone. clouds are hanging tough. we'll show you those. a look ahead to a cool, but finally dry weekend forecast. the power is back on here

in maryland. i'm anita brikman with the nichols family. a very special story on why they needed their electricity back so badly. that's coming up at 5:30.

election day is fast approaching and the polls show that the presidential race is as tight as ever. mitt romney spending his day in a battleground state. >> and president obama is back on the trail after dealing with super storm sandy. danielle noddingham reports from the white house. air force one drops president obama at his first stop, green bay. >> hello, wisconsin. >> reporter: after three days off the campaign trail, the president wasted no time confronting mitt romney's twists on bringing change to washington. >> he's saying that is the big change. well let me tell you,

wisconsin, we know what change looks like. what the governor is offering, sure ain't change. >> reporter: he easily won wisconsin. this year the race is much tighter. it is now an all-out sprint to election day. they concentrated on virginia on thursday. toning down the speeches after sandy hit. but he was on the attack again at a rally in the suburbs. this is an election where, you know, i think that we're not going to just shape the country for four years, but for a generation. >> reporter: romney returned to another criticism of the president at a window and door factory. >> they are making products for america. and they and their family and all the people that work here. that they did build this. >> reporter: the recent polls

will have them up by just two points virginia. and nationally the race is a virtual tie. danielle noddingham, cbs news, the white house. >> today, the new york city mayor in the thick of the storm recovery, endorsed president obama, pointing to the president's leadership on climate change. well, a 4-year-old little girl in colorado, so tired of hearing about this election, that it actually drove her to tears. they were listening on tuesday on their way to the grocery store when the little girl started to tear up. here's what she said when the mom said why are you crying? >> i'm tired. i'm tired of barack obama and mitt romney. >> that's why you're crying? oh, it will be over soon, okay? the election will be over soon, okay? >> yay. >> heck, i feel like crying

too. they said sorry we made you cry about barack obama and mitt romney. the note went on to say that we must confess that the campaign has gone long enough for us too. keep telling ourselves only a few more days. only a few more days. only a few more days. >> let's be real if they are running for president and they had their way, they are probably tired of hearing these ads too. >> yeah. >> imagine this, they are making the same speech every day. >> yes. it sounds like it is brand new each time. >> right. i've got a treat for you, a picture. well, we kind of do. they have a satellite, recording rainfall. this is actually pretty cool. it did stay off the coast. they had seven inches of rain

in southeastern, virginia. a part of our delmarva had seven inches. do you see the yellow there? this is the heaviest rain that we could find right there. but everybody else in the blue and the green and anywhere from three to six inches.  but thankfully the heaviest rain, we call it a fish storm as we still have clouds. sandy won't leave us alone. not relaxing her grip. the dew point is 45. pressure is still rising. and the winds have turned a little bit at north-northwest, with a drier wind. it's not going to dry us out until tomorrow. satellite picture radar combined. still in southeast canada with a pretty big circulation. still showers here. yes, a little bit more in terms of the snow showers, west of the divide in places like, well, deep creek and oakland and all the way down here. a couple sprinkles are possible

tonight. most of you will drive home with a dry commute. but a couple sprinkles up north. and between d.c. and baltimore. so temperature wise. it will be late march. but you stop to think about it. it is late march. 46 in gaithersburg. 48 in rockville and 49 in bethesda. 49 in vienna. still 50 in fairfax and college park. so the cool weather will continue. early showers tonight. still breezy on friday. morning commute will be dry and the kids, yeah, they will need their jackets again tomorrow morning. for tonight early shower or sprinkle. now the winds are north- northwest from 10 to 15. you still need a jacket. high temperatures are around 55. the next three days, green,

green, green, that's nice. breezy tomorrow, 54. 53 on saturday. we've got the walk now. get there at 9:00 a.m. as i will be there bright and early. sunday, cool, a few clouds will come in. but temperatures back to the upper 50s. the next seven days. we will clean it up. partly cloudy. temperatures are still cool. the storm should stay offshore. low 50s on wednesday and cold on thursday with highs holding in the upper 40s. we couldn't show this to you. >> you were a little busy. >> yeah. they were biking on the canal and this is taken by chris. shot on saturday, the 20th. so it is a little older. awe, but all the leaves are gone now. go to our website on wusa9.com and click on weather and just to give us your picks, some information to your name and your location and a little

description. >> very nice, sir. >> thank you. coming up next, charges in the jerry sandusky sexual abuse case. reaching the highest levels of the penn state administration. we'll be right back.

now faces charges of perjury and obstruction of justice in the penn state sex abuse scandal. the prosecutors have added counts against the former athletic director and the former vice president, who oversaw the state police. >> both men have been charged to lying to the grand jury for the former assistant coach. the charges will come about a year after he was arrested for repeatedly abusing boys. >> this case is about three powerful and influential men that held positions at the very top of one of the most prestigious universities in the nation. three men who used their positions at penn state to cover up for years. the activities of the known child predator. >> he was their president for 16 years, fired last november. after sandusky, he is serving a life sentence, transferred to a

maximum security prison. coming up, a pumpkin carving demonstration that went very wrong on live tv. anita? lesli, i'm here in clifton, virginia, their generator was close to running out after sandy blew through. fortunately the lights are back on here and we have an amazing story to share. we'll see you after the break.

we have a very personal account of what prolonged outages could mean to families in our region. i'm anita brikman and i'm at the nichols home in virginia. they are loyal viewers of ours. thank you for inviting us into your home. steve has als, ventilator dependent. so the power outage was becoming a critical situation for them. i want to share a little bit of an e-mail that she sent to me yesterday. she wrote dear anita, i want to personally thank you for being our beacon in ery storm. my husband, steve, waits for your telecast each evening before i get him into bed. he as als, a top-of-the-line disability. he does not move or speak, but oh that smile. he's ventilator, dependent, the machine breathes for them so those of us who love him have one more day and the day after that. we are waiting for our power to be restored here in clifton,

virginia, we live alone, down to the last 300 customers without power. we can't complain. we have a generator, but it is a single point of a failure. his ventilator has two back-up batteries. we have power to last for 15 hours without electricity. we are house bound in a storm. so once we heard that, 9news knew we needed to help and our reporter and our photographer did just that last night. take a look at their work. >> thank you for sending us that e-mail. >> thanks very much. i appreciate your time and efforts, but now i'm going to run back because i cannot leave hiunattended. >> steve is the reason why we're here. his wife, haline e-mailed anita asking for help because their power was out and steve needs it to live. >> we have been married for 32 years. steve is beginning his year 19 with als, they say that he is trapped in his body. >> reporter: which means that he has the equivalent of three

full-time jobs, around-the- clock care, can't leave his sight or house. there is nowhere else she would rather be. >> i would not be me without steve. >> reporter: they are using a generator, but they only have a few batteries, which means a few hours. >> if steve loses power capability, then he could live for maybe 40, 45 minutes, that's it. >> reporter: he uses this tv to watch 9news every night. that's why they needed to reach out to us for help. we called them and told them about the life or death situation. and anita wanted them to know that they were not alone. >> okay, we also want to give a special shout out to one of our viewers. actually a couple of them. they are out in clifton, virginia, they called us their beacon in the storm as they are still without power, one of the few left in fairfax county that don't have power. this is so critical because he has als. >> i'm honored and quite humbled by the recognition and any favorite news team. >> it looks like the former

guru, husband, father, grandfather, that they have a sweet spot for the ladies. >> and like all women. [ laughter ] >> and daring. >> y. >> and derek and topper, right? >> yes. that's right. >> oh, yes. kristin too. >> if that is like christmas for the nichols, well this is like new years. >> the fact that you're a little at a float because health insurance was taxed. i think that we just heard possibly the power come on. now i know that we are safe. and now you know that you are safe, steve. >> he is smiling. >> yes, he's smiling. >> all right, back live now. back live here in clifton with the nichols. i want to show you a little video when we first arrived.

so i want to show you that and then talk to both haline and steve. let's take a look. >> hey. hi! hey steve. how are you? he's okay. >> hi. >> it is so nice to meet you. oh don't cry. no, don't cry. [ laughter ] >> it is such a treat. because you made everybody here. >> this whole day has been a treat for me and seeing you with the 9news hat on, it just makes my day. everyone in our newsroom is so happy to see you guys are safe and the power is back on. thank you for reaching out to me. >> anita, this is truly our luckiest day. >> okay. i think that we're having a bit of technical difficulty there and so unfortunate. right in the middle of just a special moment there. >> yes, indeed with the nichols and anita. but we are so very happy that they have their power back and that steve is going to be fine.

i mean yeah, what do you say? >> nothing much than you can say. oh wait a second, i think we have them back. we'll get back out to anita. are you there? >> are we back? >> yes. >> okay. >> it's live television. do you know that steve was teasing me earlier asking where the teleprompter is? it is cay -- it is crazy out here. >> 9news now is here for us today. we were so surprised to have anita walk through our door. we have followed her since 2008. she's the star here at night. and we watch the telecast before we go downstairs to bed in the evenings. and so we are very thankful. when i wrote anita yesterday, i was sitting and waiting and watching the clock and even titled the e-mail, watching the clock. steve does have a generator here in the home to help us. and so that when power is out, we do have a way to power his equipment. but time was running out on the generator. and novak, thank you for what you have done in the storm for

all of us having difficulties. and we are on the medical priority list with them, but understand that does not mean that you are bumped to the top of the list for medical priority. and what it does mean is they will provide you with information so that you can make appropriate decisions for you and for your home. >> and we were really glad that they reached out to you. before we go, steve, i like you and i know that you prepared something for the viewers and i would like them to hear that, okay? >> this has been such a thrilling experience and i know that there are other people in similar or even worse positions and my hope is that this will help them get better service as well. >> thank you. >> and thank you for inviting us to be here. guys, back to you. >> oh, thank you, anita. what a great ending. >> perfect. >> and so often we don't have a happy ending. but it is nice when we get one. >> absolutely. >> topper you have the tough task of following all of that. >> i don't know what to say, except for the fact that sandy

will finally leave us alone. we'll talk about when the we'll see the sun again. we have the skins in town. but up next, a black belt, a gun permit, and a little luck. how a bank president took down a suspected robber. don't forget that we're always on wusa9.com. stay with us, we'll be right back.

caught on tape, bank president that manages to turn the tables on the wood-be robber. this is yesterday. a man wearing a mask. he walks out with nearly $5,000. but as he got out to the parking lot, well the bank president, he stepped up. >> he got into the truck. i grabbed the door, he turned, looked at me. i had the gun pointed in his face and i said you're not going anywhere. >> whoa. >> it turns out that the wood- be robber is a regular customer at the bank. 58-year-old donald lee of troy, now behind bars, charged with robbery. well, have you ever seen a pumpkin fly? >> well check out this pumpkin carving experiment that really hit them with a bang.

>> are you ready? >> yes, i'm ready. >> are you sure? >> yeah, i think so. >> okay, well, we blew up the whole thing. [ laughter ] a man known as the hooked on science guy, he was trying to demonstrate how you can use a small explosion to carve a pumpkin on an evansdale, newscast. we filled it up with a chemical formula. when he ignited it, well, the whole pumpkin just flew. >> i love that. still ahead tonight, we have seen five uniform -- university of the maryland athletes lose their season to knee injuries this year. we'll have a look at how you can keep your kids safe when they compete. but first an update on the tree that can condemn the house of one of our colleagues. and the super storm sandy hit hard.

we're back with the update of the impact of super storm sandy earlier on our own. we showed you the video earlier. and that tree came to rest on his bed. about 10 minutes after his wife had gotten up. and bruce has an update for us tonight. >> reporter: in a disaster, you

would take comfort in small things. and my family, they are just overjoyed that the crane is here. days after the storm to take that tree off of our house. now there are so many broken houses that it is tough to get any tree service in. this job is particularly difficult because the tree is so massive and it -- and it is wedged into such a tight corner. my insurance company tells me that a couple of tree services, they refused to have anything to do with it. they got them to come in and they have this crane here as they are working to get it out. their trees are all the way around as they need to duck and weave just to get back there to the house to take the tree off. >> do you see this frequently? >> yes. >> and not just that.

>> this is bad. and that it was probably 70 to 80 years old, weighing tons. it sat up 80 feet in the air. and that means that they will be really weak. the other terrible thing about them is to have a tiny roof ball. i mean look at that. i could reach from one end to the other and that is all that was holding this massive tree, up in the air. so the word from the experience if you have that popper and particularly if you have it up above your house, then get somebody in to take a look at it. in bethesda, 9news now. >> we are so happy that bruce and his family, they are okay.

bruce also talked to us today about the difficulties that the crew was having getting the tree out of their house. the challenges on what to do with all the other trees that they once removed. you can hear them talk about it, all of those on our website. wusa9.com. >> and that is for everybody at bruce's house is fine. >> yes. everyone is home. >> it is just a thing. >> yes, absolutely. they are safe and well. and that is the biggest blessing for all of them. >> yes, they may have a place to live in the next couple of days. >> just down the street. all right, we are looking at sandy with clouds on our way. we still have breezes. but i think that tomorrow will be the sunniest day of the week. right now they look okay. it's a little cool, but it will be okay. we'll start with a live look outside. we'll be looking at temperatures in the50s. and in fact the temperatures, they have been well below average now. it looks like for the last little bit. temperatures right now, 52. the dew point is 35. winds are north-northwest at 7. steady at 2.96 inches of

mercury. average high is 64 as we have been way below that at the end of the week. the radar with the sprinkles pushing on through. if you are headed up 270 or 66, certainly at route 7 and 50, you'll have a couple showers, couple sprinkles here for you as well and the bulk of the precipitation will remain up and down. where it will need to shower again. we'll be on sort of the edge of the dry side. a little more sunshine for tomorrow. 45 in good faithersburg. 47 in bethesda and vienna and fairfax. 49 in college park and 49 also in bowie. and so now, cool weather. it will continue. early showers tonight. still breezy tomorrow. at least a dry morning commute and the kids, they will need their jackets again in the morning. and actually you will too. it will be a cool day. early showers, partly to mostly cloudy and breezy and cold. 34 to about 42. winds are westerly at 10 to 15. now tomorrow morning, returning partly sunny, breezy, chilly.

good idea to have a jacket. 30s and 40s. winds are turning north- northwest to 10 to 15. by the afternoon, partly cloudy, windy, cool. you still need a jacket. highs around55. winds are northwesterly at 10 to 20 with occasionally a higher gust. the next three days. well good news. green, green, green. we'll see you at 9:00 a.m. with a few clouds coming in. temperatures in the upper 50s. the next seven days. monday we're in good shape. just a few clouds earlly . passing to our south. on sunday and monday. and a nice little redskins game as well. len election day, we'll clean thaw. partly cloudy, 54. a little colder on wednesday and thursday. and in fact by next thursday, temperatures will be holding in the upper 40s. back to you. >> all right, thank you, topper. we all know that injuries in sports are nothing new and certainly not rare. but lately, there has been a

rash of pretty serious injuries. >> and we've been telling you about it here with the medical experts to get to the bottom of this and how the injuries could be prevented. >> yes, like you said. we have seen a rash of acl injuries due to local athletes. joining me now to talk about why and how these could be prevented. the chief of orthopedic surgery at the va hospital center. thank you so much for coming in. and real quick, a list for our viewers in the span of two months. three maryland quarterbacks, the lady turps quarterback, they are all out with acl injuries, as well as redskins fred davis with the achilles, and then thuggs returns from his achilles injury as well. this situation with just three quarters back, extremely rare. do you feel like this is a rash of injuries, something with the players being underconditioned? >> we really don't know. it may be just bad luck or a number of other things. but the acl injuries have been

common for years. getting a little more publicity now and the question is do they stop well? no one has shown that it is up. >> we just happen to have more in our area at least. >> it is everywhere, not just here. >> what is the recovery time for something like this? >> at least six months, up to a year. the surgery to repair them will be much better now. they were back playing them seven months. and that was almost unheard of just a few minutes ago. >> of course, the professional athletes, they have trainers that, you know, they have been conditioning experts there at their facilities. when you are talking to parents, with the teenagers and stuff like that involved in sports, what can they do to make sure that they are healthy enough to prevent something like this? >> well, pre-season conditioning, they could make a

difference. a good study that will show you that the women athletes, that it really helps, and helps them here as well. >> getting out there. any kind of specific exercises that will be good for the acl? >> well, performance training. just having the muscles to help support the acl. and they also help. the muscles will be secondary. and stabilizers for the knee. so they are going to be able to help. but really that will be the only thing for them to be shown to make a big difference as far as preventing injuries. especially in the women's sports. five times higher. >> so conditioning is key, but most of the time they could come out? >> yes, if they have a common injury at the same time. in the worse case scenario, it could be a career ending injury. >> all right, from the va hospital center. thank you so much for coming in. >> yes. >> back over to you. >> thank you. and still ahead, new

information about those anti- obama chess messages that we first learned on 9news. a new view of hurricane sandy and the kick to the city that will never sleep. but first, using marshmallows to solve the world's problems? how they are doing that at one local cool school.

they are teaching locally. making a big stop up here in maryland. how could something as simple as the marshmallow help the students learn how to solve the problems of the world? well, we will take you to the school as they find out. >> have you ever wondered how the tall buildings will stay up in the air? >> they don't have to wonder. >> they'll do three of these. >> the fifth graders are putting engineering basics to work. >> what's the strongest thing to build with?

>> usually triangles. >> reporter: their materials, marshmallow and raw spaghetti. their inspiration? >> the empire state building? >> that's a pretty tall one. >> oh wow, very cool. >> the sears tower. >> reporter: the school is in a partnership with john hopkins center for technology and education. hands on learning is a big part of the experience -- experiment, but it goes far beyond that. >> you'll learn how to work in teams. then the teachers will be working with the students in helping them learn how to work. around solving the real world problems. >> reporter: the program is called learning integration for tomorrow or lipt. each student goes into a small group, gets an assigned job and title, which requires them to stay engaged. >> if you are working in a smaller group, most people will get it because they feel bigger and you make an idea, you know, one person might not know what they are doing and mess up the

project. >> when they finish, they get to stand up and tell the class what worked and what didn't. >> we did the same design, but we only stopped until here. we actually later decided. and because that team, they motivated us. they want that beat down and we just added another floor. >> reporter: for lance's team, that was a good thing. >> four, three, two, one. hand off -- hands off. >> this is their second try of the tower. >> all right, we'll stick that one on top. it is 106 centimeters. >> reporter: almost double their competitors. plus all the students benefit because the strategy is available for the whole courthouse. lifting all of them to the global level. >> the skill sets they need is probably more than anything else, you know, how they understand one another. and kind of how they

communicate to someone that they might not know very well, coming up with idea. >> what started to wonder about tall buildings, ended with the sweet success. mike mike, 9news now. >> you see, you thought that they were just good for hot chocolate. if you have an idea for cool school, send him an e-mail. tonight, the federal communications commission is in investigating the unsolicited campaign texts that have been showing up across cell phones across our area. many of our viewers, they told us that they were offended by the anti-obama text, because of the invasion of privacy. andrea mccaren is tracking this story joining us from the satellite information with new information. andrea? >> reporter: not only are people annoyed by the